Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” - Luke 12:1-21
Jesus was a traffic hazard. Walking through the crowds for him was like those scenes in movies where some important person tries to get from a door to the car, with microphones attentive, cameras peering and flashes highlighting his entire path. And always voices calling out and asking his opinion, but often just to satisfy themselves that he would reinforce opinions that they themselves were previously convinced of.
Such was the case when someone in the crowd asked Jesus to "tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Why did ask Jesus when you already know the answer? Because they wanted to be publicly validated in the rightness of their claim. So Jesus doesn't give a direct answer, because a direct answer would be a wrong one. Instead he speaks to the crowd and warns them about not the correctness of the claim, but of the motive for seeking the claim. It wasn't related to justice--the right thing--, it was related to the unquenchable to have more than his brother.
Under the guise of justice, this person was greedy.
What will I do when God says something to me? Will I seek for an interpretation which allows me to convince myself that Jesus shares the opinion I have already formed? Or will I allow him to challenge even the most brilliant of conclusions? And will I let him challenge my motives in concluding as I did?
That is the question I should ask.
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